Equalizing nonreflux return elbow



Oct. 30, 1934. E, WEBER 1,978,730

- EQUALIZNG NONREFLUX RETURN ELBOW Filed April l5. 1952 F/gf 2 '4 BY v,Vf/IA/ ATT RNEY Patented Oct. 30, 1934 `{Ulsxrrlso STATES PATENT`'F'FICIE".

2 Claims.l

The invention is a'combinationfvalve compris-` ing anequalizilng-lvalve,` a shut'f10if'va1ve,fand a check valvey all#"einbodied` in 'onelmechanism; to be used in systems offluidlidistribution for equal- 5 iai-ng the howl tothe' variousfurxit'sin` the system,

for shuttingfoft said` unitsfat the return end,4 rand` for4 preventing'a reverse flow"of1the iiuid` thru the units. v l

'The invention may `'ailsobe -describi-idas av check i and radiators.The connectionsfto the'.v radiators have a` valve `at lone v end;'usuallythe inlet, and a returnl elbow at 'the-other lend; usually the'outlet. InA suchsyst'erns,` 'to obtain an equal' flow; .or correctlyrproportioned how; fof-:water to Seach'unit of radiation, it isnecessary" that'the thermal head produced by the 'differencelinweightsof Tthe columns oithe Warme" feed Water 1`andthe coolerreturn'water` to and from each unitof 'radiation and the boiler shall`equal: ther friction head `produced by" the flow of waterfi'orn theboiler toi'each unit,` in agravi'tyfsystexn. Inf asysteml under forcedcircula-tion' i the i friction head' A fromm the boiler to each runit"ofradiation and fbackifto the boiler niust be' -equalin orderthatfeacli unit shall receive its proper and vadequate supply! Vofwater. Y

Obviously, the `design ofisucha distribution system is tedious andldifficult.`4` Theintroduction or `oinissiorrof elbows and: otherttingsAaiects the frietion `head andthe consequent` equalization of flow, andbeing limited I to commercial pipe sizes aoorrectly balanced design isquite impossible toA obtain. Forthe'purpose of 'equalizing such'systems; va-

rious types of'equalizing supply valvesfare used on 'the inlet to' theradiator 'and discs with orices and lock "shield valves on the outlet,the latter being adjusted to equalize the flow.'

`In a tall building the Statie head on a radiator onrone ofV thelowefloors is lhigh and if a radiatoivruptures, the supply valve may be.shut off, but water still continues to enter thruthe return connectionand` therefore leaks .into `the room. 'Where alockshieldvalve is'usedon` the return it may be shut output only afteranattendant has found asuitabletsocket wrench.`

Whenever a radiator :must be Adisconnected for` y repair orVotherreasons, itis necessaryto drain w (Clf.4 2514-139) the` systemexcept when lock `shield valves are usedon 1 the i return.

-HEqua-lizing supply fvalvesfare usually designed to` operate bygiving'one complete turnfrom full open toi-full olosed.` A fdiscwithlimit stops, which permitsA the -valve handle to pass thru onlya'fraction of arevolution from its elosed-toitslfull` open positionafter equalization, isprovidedffor-equalizing or throttling thevalvesonsradiators having anlexcessive flow ofwater;v Most persons operatingsuch a regulatedfvalve feel convinced that they havenotaopened or closedthe valve after turning the handle'thru: only a fraction of arevolution, and they will continue to turn the handle often twisting itloose from theastem.

This invention has for itsprincipal object a return mechanism, valve orelbow which can be used-for regulating-the ilow ofv a -fluidthrurradiators-or other units independent-,fof the action of the supplyvalveonv the viiovv endof such radiators or units.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means for rapidly and`automaticallyclosing the return opening to a radiator orotherunitincase same ruptures and after the supply-valve has been closed.

further object of the inventionfis to permit of disconnecting' a.radiator or other unit -by closingI thelsupply valve `and allowing adisc in S5 azmechanism on the return to automatically seat itselfandthuscloseoi the water from the returnifbranch whenthe radiator isdisconnected without draining the system or portion thereof.

``With theseends in view` the invention embodies 90 arvalve or elbowadapted toi-be `inserted. inthe return of4 a radiator and in whichthevalve memberI isfsimilar to a check valve and mounted so thatithelength of the movement thereof may beV adjusted and also so that itmaybe `locked in a closed` position.

Other features and advantages: ofthe4 invention will appear from .thefollowing description taken in connectionwiththe drawingin -which likecharacters represent like parts. f All elbows 100 arershown with `groundjoint unions and nipples, asi'are customarily furnishedv with suchvdevices.

Fig. llis a section thruan equalizing'non-refiux return elbow,- showingyit inzits full -valve open position. 105

Fig. 2 is a similar section showing it in its full valve -openipositionwith thexcheck` disc closed to prevent atreverse flow 'of the iluid.

l Fig,A 31is a .similar section showing it in a partly `valve closedorfthrottledvposition. Y Y

Fig. 4 is a similar section showing it in a full valve closed position,wherein the elbow is used as a shut off valve.

Fig. is an end View of the elbow with cap removed.

6 is an end View of the check disc showing the curved blades.

Fig. 7 is an end view of an elbow of the side outlet type, which may beright handed or left handed.

Fig. 8 is a conventional forced hot water heating system showing theapplication of the equalizing non-reflux return elbows.

In the drawing the valve is shown as it would -l be made wherein numeral1 indicates the body,

Zit

numeral 2 the inlet nipple, and numeral 3 the outlet connection.

The nipple 2 is held against the ground joint 4 by unit 5 at the inletend of the valve and a valve seat 5 is located a short distance from theground joint as shown. The valve disc 7 is positioned to engage the seat6 and at the back of the valve is a stem 8 which is slidably mounted inthe cylindrical opening 9 in a bushing 10 which is threaded in a nut lland the nut 11 is also threaded in the end of the body 1. The bushing l0is provided with a slot l2 so that it may be turned with a screw driverto adjust its position in the nut and the nut is provided with recesses13 by which it may be rotated with a Spanner wrench. It will thereforebe observed that the position of the bushing may be adjusted in the nutand the position of the nut adjusted in the body of the valve therebyproviding double adjustment for the valve member, and as the diameter ofthe nut is greater than that of the valve disc the valve may readily beremoved by removing the nut. These parts are covered by an outer cap 14which is also threaded on the exterior of the valve body. The cap 14 maybe provided with a nut 15 as shown in Figure 4, and if desired tofacilitate the movement thereof, the valve disc 7 may be provided withspiral louvers 16 on the face thereof which will give the valve a rotarymotion as a fluid passes through the valve casing or elbow which willinsure continuous free movement of the valve.

In the design shown in Figure 7 the outlet connection 3 is formed at theright hand side as indicated by the numeral 17 instead of at the bottomas shown in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive. It will also be understood thatthis connection may be made on the left hand side or in any othersuitable position.

ln the design shown the axis of the valve disc 7 is in a slightlyinclined position so that the valve will have a tendency to open and thepressure of the fluid against it will therefore be assisted by gravityin moving it to the open position. It will also be understood that thevalve may be mounted in a horizontal position or any other positiondesired.

The diagram shown in Figure 8 illustrates the position of the device ina hot water heating system in which the system is provided with a boiler18 and a circulating pump 19 and a iow main 20 extends from the upperside of the boiler and is connected to a supply riser 21. A return 22 isalso provided which extends to the pump 19. Between the supply riser andthe return are blocks 23 which indicate radiators or other heatingdevices and between the supply riser 21 and the radiators 23 are inletconnections in which are valves 24 and the device as described in thisapplication is located in the connection between the radiators and thereturn 22 and is .indicated by the numeral 25. In one instance in whichthe radiator is indicated by the numeral 26, a type of inlet valve as isnormally used is shown and indicated by the numeral 27 and the commonoutlet connection, which is indicated by the numeral 28, is also shownto illustrate the method of connecting radiators which is in common useat present.

A relief opening 29 may be provided in the valve member and stern asshown in dotted lines in Figure 1 to permit iiuid to pass to theinterior of opening 9 to break a vacuum that may form therein.

The use of the equalizing non-reflux return elbow may be understood fromthe following description of the operation of the heating system asshown in Figure 8. Water heated in the boiler 18 passes thru the flowmain 20, up the supply riser 2l and thru the valve 24 to the radiator 23and from the radiator thru the equalizing nonreiiux return elbow asindicated by the numeral 25, thru the return 22 to the pump 20 and fromthere into the boiler 18.

As the flow of water to the various units will 13.

not be completely balanced, the nal balancing of the system isaccomplished by adjusting valve 24 and the valve in the elbows 25. Thelatter are adjusted by screwing bushing 10 into or out of the nut 11,thus decreasing or increasing the clearance between valve seat 6 and thedisc 7 and thereby regulating the flow of water therethru.

To disconnect radiator 26 it is necessary to drain the entire system as,even though valve 27 is closed, the water will flow back thru elbow 28.

To disconnect radiator 23 it is not necessary to drain the system, as ifvalve 24 is closed and the radiator is disconnected, then the reverseilow oi' water thru elbow 25 will automatically seat the disc 7 on seat8 and close olf the reverse flow of water from the return main.

In case radiator 26 breaks and valve 27 is shut oif, water will stillcontinue to enter thru return elbow 28 and will leak into the room untilthe system is drained, or if a lock-shield valve is used i on the returnconnection in place of 28, then water will continue toleak until asocket wrench has been found to close the lock-shield valve. In easeradiator 23 breaks and Valve 24 is shut off,

then the reverse flow of water thru elbow will automatically seat thecheck disc 7 on seat 6, close off the reverse ilow from the return mainand thus terminate the leakage.

Disc 7 is provided with curved projecting blades 16 to give a slightrotation to the disc and stem 8 when water is flowing. This rotationwill prevent 8 and 10 from adhering.

Stem 8 is shown set at a slight angle, so that the action of rotationtogether with the force of gravity will tend to keep the rear face ofdisc j:

7 snugly against the end of bushing 10 and thus keep the elbow normallyopen and also avoid ingress of dirt into opening 9. It is of courseunderstood that this invention also contemplates an equalizing non-reduxreturn elbow in which ne of which changes may be in the design orarrangement of the valve body, another may be in the use of a valve of adifferent type, and still another may be in the arrangement or design ofthe connections to the valve body inlet and outlet.

Having thus fully described the invention what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. In a combination valve of the character described, a body havinginlet and outlet connections, said inlet connection having a Valve seatformed therein, a valve member cooperating with said seat having spirallouvers on the face thereof and a stem extending from the opposite side,a bushing in which said stem is slidably mounted, a nut threaded in saidbody and in which said bushing is threaded, and a cap threaded on saidbody forming a closure for said nut and bushing,

said bushing adapted to be adjusted to regulate the travel of said valvemember.

2. In a combination valve of the character described, a body havinginlet and outlet connections, one of said connections having a valveseat formed therein, a valve member cooperating with said seat, saidvalve member having a stem extending from the back thereof, a bushing inwhich said stem is slidably mounted, said bushing 'positioned to supportsaid valve member in a position slightly inclined relative to thelongitudinal axis of said body, a nut threaded in said casing and inwhich said bushing is threaded, the position of said bushing adapted tobe adjusted in said nut to regulate the travel of said valve member, anda cap enclosing said nut and bushing.

ERWIN L. WEBER.

